Last all-boarding girls’ school bows to demand for day pupils
THE last remaining fully boarding school for girls is introducing day pupils after acknowledging that “family life has evolved”.
Benenden, the Kent-based school that charges £39,372 per year for boarders, will introduce the changes in September.
Anne Wakefield, the deputy headmistress, who oversees boarding and pastoral care, said that while demand for boarding remained strong, it “does not suit all families”.
Since family life had “evolved” in recent decades, the school had decided to move with the times, she added.
The decision to offer places to day pupils for the first time since the school opened almost a century ago follows similar moves in recent years by many of its rival institutions.
Of 1,374 private schools in the UK, 474 have a boarding element, according to the Independent Schools Council census, meaning that they have at least one boarding pupil.
Only 13 are exclusively for boarders, including Eton College, which charges £42,501 per year, Winchester College, which costs £41,709, and Harrow School, where parents pay £41,775. The rest offer a mixture of full, weekly and flexi-boarding, as well as day pupils.
Stephen Spriggs, the managing director at William Clarence Education, which assists public schools with recruitment, said that while boarding remained popular with overseas students, it had largely fallen out of favour with British families.
“Generally the trend is going away from boarding for the domestic market,” he said. “Middle-class families traditionally – up to a generation ago – sent their children to boarding schools. But now the fees are so high [they] have been priced out.”
While it used to be the “done thing” to send children away to school, this was no longer the case, he added.
“There has also been a change in taste where parents want their children to be at home rather than sending their children away,” Mr Spriggs said.
An increasing number of schools have introduced “flexi-boarding”, with pupils staying overnight from time to time. It is a popular option for children who stay late for an activity such as a club or sporting fixture.
The proportion of weekly and flexiboarders has increased for the past four consecutive years, according to the ISC, to make up a fifth of all boarders.
Benenden, which was founded in 1923, is based in a Victorian mansion. It educates 550 girls aged 11 to 18, and will charge day pupils £29,550 per year.
Samantha Price, the headmistress, described it as a “historic moment” for the school. She said: “We know from families living locally that there is a strong demand for girls to join us as day boarders and we are delighted to be able to welcome some of these girls to Benenden for the first time next year.”